What are 5 important questions to ask a client before building their app?

Before diving into app development, clear communication and a solid grasp of the client’s vision can save countless hours of rework and ensure a successful product. Here are five essential questions to ask your client right from the start:

1. What Is the Core Purpose or Goal of Your App?

   • Why It Matters: Understanding the app’s main objective—whether it’s to drive sales, streamline internal processes, or provide a new service—helps you prioritize features and make design decisions that align with the business strategy.
   • Follow-Up: Ask about the success metrics the client will use to measure whether the app meets these goals (e.g., user growth, revenue, adoption rates).

2. Who Is Your Target Audience?

   • Why It Matters: Defining the primary user group (e.g., employees, customers, age demographics, or industry) influences design choices, platform selection, and user experience strategies.
   • Follow-Up: Dive into user personas—what are their pain points, and how does the app solve those problems?

3. What Are the Must-Have Features vs. Nice-to-Have Features?

   • Why It Matters: Prioritizing functionalities lets you allocate time and resources effectively. It also helps avoid feature bloat, ensuring you focus on the features that deliver maximum impact first.
   • Follow-Up: Ask about nonfunctional requirements like performance expectations, offline capabilities, or security standards.

4. What Is Your Budget and Timeline?

   • Why It Matters: A realistic sense of budget and deadline ensures you can suggest the right technical approach—native vs. cross-platform, custom builds vs. existing libraries—and plan the development phases without surprises.
   • Follow-Up: Clarify if the client has any flexibility. If time is tight, you might propose an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach.

5. How Do You Envision Scaling and Maintaining the App?

   • Why It Matters: Even the smallest app might need to grow or adapt to changing user demands over time. Understanding long-term plans helps you choose a tech stack that supports scalability, performance, and maintainability.
   • Follow-Up: Determine if the client has an in-house team or will rely on you for ongoing updates and maintenance.

Bonus Tips to Enhance Your App Development Process

• Elevate Your System Design Skills

  • If you’re building an app likely to attract thousands (or millions) of users, brush up on large-scale architecture topics.
  • Grokking the System Design Fundamentals is perfect for those new to system design.
  • Grokking the System Design Interview helps you master designing robust, scalable systems—an essential skill for modern app development.

• Leverage Mock Interviews for Complex Projects

  • System Design Mock Interview: If you’re tackling advanced features (e.g., real-time communication, distributed data), real-time feedback from ex-FAANG engineers can refine your approach.

By asking these five key questions early—and complementing your process with strong technical grounding—you’ll have a clearer roadmap, reduce risks, and build an app that truly meets the client’s goals. Good luck!